IT Correspondent
New Delhi, May 28:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a review meeting with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar to discuss the impact of Cyclone Yaas. He was slated to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in connection with the damage caused by the cyclonic storm.
Modi conducted a survey of cyclone-affected areas of Balsore, Bhadrak and Purba Medinipur in Odisha and held a short review meeting on cyclone. He was received by Governor Ganeshi Lal, Odisha CM Patnaik, Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Sarangi at the Biju Patnaik International Airport. The review meeting was held in the airport conference hall.
The Cyclone packing winds gusting to 145 kmph whiplashed parts of India’s eastern coast on Wednesday, killing at least six people and leaving behind a trail of damaged homes and flooded farmland, forcing over 21 lakh people to be evacuated to safe shelters in the states of West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.
Modi was scheduled to conduct an aerial survey of the affected areas of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas in West Bengal later in the day and to hold a meeting with WB CM Mamata Banerjee and WB Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, to review the devastation caused by cyclone. The meeting was scheduled to be held at Kalaikunda in Paschim Medinipur district.
Both PM Modi and Banerjee were set to conduct separate aerial surveys of affected regions later in the day.
Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and light-moderate rain are expected in parts of West Bengal’s South Dinajpur district, according to the Regional Meteorological Centre on Friday. While widespread rainfall is predicted on Friday, in North West and Central Bihar, including Patna,
Jharkhand remains on high alert where about 15,000 people have been evacuated to safer zones. Nearly eight lakh people have been affected by the storm in Jharkhand. Two people died in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi as their house collapsed amid incessant rainfall under the impact of a cyclone. A major bridge on river Kanchi that connects Bundu with Tamar near Ranchi also collapsed following torrential rains, official sources said.
In the meanwhile, the depression over Bihar and Jharkhand, a remnant of the very severe Cyclone Yaas, has weakened into a well-marked low pressure area over Bihar and adjoining eastern Uttar Pradesh, according to the Indian Meteorological Department’s latest bulletin.
Six people were killed as several coastal towns of north Odisha and neighboring West Bengal were pounded by the severe cyclonic storm after it made landfall in Odisha on Wednesday. While three died in Odisha, one person died in West Bengal and two people died in Jharkhand. An estimated three lakh houses suffered damage in West Bengal.
Indian Navy’s 7 teams at forefront of relief activities
Seven teams of the Indian Navy comprising two diving and five flood relief teams (FRT) have remained at the forefront of relief activities that are being conducted in West Bengal after the cyclone hit the state’s coastal areas, the defence ministry said on Thursday.
The relief control centre at the Indian naval ship “Netaji Subhas”, in coordination with the West Bengal government, has concentrated their relief and rescue operations in Digha and Fraserganj, the two highly inundated low-lying coastal areas. The Indian Navy’s team at Fraserganj was deployed to Narayanpur village, about 30 km away, for rescue and relief operations despite heavy rains and inclement weather. The Navy’s team at Digha operated in villages in the vicinity of Digha and undertook road clearing operations and distributed aid to the needy, the defence ministry said.
Besides the Indian Navy team has been deployed from INS Chilka under the aegis of Naval Officer-in-Charge, Odisha. The team has already commenced relief work for the personnel in distress. A quick reaction medical team has also been kept on standby for deployment at the site for people requiring immediate health check-ups. Four Naval ships carrying Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) material entered Damra port on Thursday to provide necessary relief to the affected populace of Badrak District.
NDRF
Also the National Disaster Response Force(NDRF) has deployed 113 teams in five states and a Union Territories as part of its preparation and response to the cyclonic storm- the highest ever such deployment in the rescue operation. These teams have been deployed in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Andaman and Nicobar Island.
Over the years, India has been hit by various cyclones including Fani, Amphan, Vayu, Nisarga, among others. ‘Yaas’ is the second cyclonic storm to hit India within a week after “Tauktae” tore into Western Coast causing death and destruction.
